Born in Niles,
Ohio, Burns was a line
drive hitter and a solid defensive first baseman who hit .300
or better in all but one of his full seasons between 1918 and 1927.
After four unremarkable seasons with the Detroit Tigers (1914-17), he was
acquired by the Philadelphia Athletics in 1918. In his
first season with the team he hit .352, surpassed only by the .382
of Detroit's Ty Cobb, and
led the AL in hits (178) and total bases (236) while
also setting a league record with 109 double plays at first base (Earl Sheely surpassed
the mark three years later). After slipping to .296 in 1919, he was
sent to the Indians in May 1920.

During the 1920 regular season, Burns was stuck behind regular
first baseman Doc
Johnston; but his play revived in the World
Series, in which he and Johnston were platooned by manager Tris Speaker. Burns
started Game 6, and with the Indians up 3-2 in the Series and no
score in the 6th inning, Burns doubled home Speaker with the only
run of the game as the Indians edged Brooklyn 1-0 to take a commanding
4-2 lead in the nine-game Series. Cleveland won again the next day,
capturing the first Series title for the franchise. During the
season, after shortstop Ray Chapman died one day after being hit by
a pitch, Burns had welcomed newly acquired Joe Sewell by giving him one of his own
bats; Sewell went on to use the same bat, which he called "Black
Betsy," throughout a 14-year career in which he struck out only 114
times.

After the 1921 season, in which he and Johnston again competed
for playing time, he was traded to the Boston Red Sox, and batted .306 and .328
in 1922 and 1923, finishing second in the league in doubles the
latter year. He got the first hit ever in Yankee Stadium in 1923, and on
September 14 of that year against the Indians, Burns turned a unassisted triple play – only
the fourth in major league history, and the first by a first
baseman. In the second inning, he caught Frank Brower's line drive, tagged Walt
Lutzke off first base and actually ran to second base, sliding
in before Riggs Stephenson could return from
third. The following January, he was traded back to the Indians –
ironically, in a deal which involved Bill Wambsganss, who had turned the
only unassisted triple play in World Series history as Burns'
teammate in 1920.

Back with Cleveland, Burns hit over .300 in each of the next
four seasons and was regularly among the league leaders in doubles.
In 1926 he broke Speaker's 1923 major league mark of 59 doubles;
his record was broken in 1931 by Earl Webb, though Burns still retains a share
of the mark for right-handed hitters, along with Joe Medwick. Burns also
led the league in hits (216) for the second time, and was second in
the league in runs
batted in, behind Babe
Ruth. For his accomplishments that year he was named the MVP,
becoming the first Cleveland player to be so honored, and in May
1927 he was presented with an automobile and a silver bat
containing $1,150 during a day honoring him. In 1928 he broke
Stuffy
McInnis' AL record of 1608 games at first base, though Joe Judge passed him later
that year; his AL mark for right-handed players was broken in 1940 by Jimmie Foxx, and he
still trails only Foxx and George Scott in league
history.

After being sent to the New York Yankees in late 1928, Burns
appeared in only 13 games for the team before rejoining the
Athletics in 1929. He ended his career with an unusual
pinch-hitting appearance in the 1929 World Series, in which he won
his second championship; in Game 5, he was sent in to bat for the
pitcher with the Athletics down 8-3, and went on to hit twice in a
10-run inning that resulted in a victory. In his 16-season career,
Burns hit 72 home runs
with 951 RBI in 1866 games played. With 2018 hits, he then
trailed only Nap
Lajoie (2523) and Harry Heilmann (2499) in AL history
among right-handed hitters; his 444 career doubles ranked eighth in
major league history among right-handers, and fifth among all AL
players. With 110 times being hit by a pitch, he ranked second in the AL
to Kid
Elberfeld.

Following his major league career he played for five seasons in
the Pacific Coast League, leading the
league in RBI in 1932, and managed in the minors until 1939. He left
baseball to become a deputy sheriff in Seattle until his retirement in 1967.